November 19 – December 7, 2025 | Peet’s Theatre
In This Program
- A Welcome from the Artistic and Managing Directors
- Healing Histories Through Story and Solidarity
- This Fragile Earth: A Look at the Climate Displacement Crisis
- Show Program
- Print Edition
- More about Berkeley Rep
Welcome to Berkeley Rep
To ensure the best experience for everyone:
While always encouraged, masks are required inside the theatres during Sunday and Tuesday performances for the first three weeks of a show’s run.
Food and drink: Beverages in cans, cartons, or plastic cups with lids are welcome in the theatre during unmasked performances. Food is prohibited in the theatre during all performances.
Courtesy reminder: To avoid disruption to everyone, please turn off your cell phones, beeping watches, and electronic devices, and refrain from unwrapping cellophane wrappers during the performance. For the comfort of all patrons, please avoid wearing strongly scented personal products.
Photos: Photos may be taken in the theatre before and after the performance and during intermission. Photos and videos during the performance are strictly prohibited. Photos posted on social media must credit Berkeley Rep and the show’s designers.
Smoking and vaping: Berkeley Rep’s public spaces are smoke- and vape-free.
One of the joys of live theatre is the collective experience. Audience members respond to the show in many different ways. We invite you to join together and enjoy the show! If there is anything we can do to make your experience more enjoyable, please see a member of the house staff.
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From the Artistic Director
Welcome to Mother of Exiles!
A month or so ago I was in New York. I visited rehearsal for Mexodus and as I walked through the Lower East Side towards my next show, I realized that I was around the corner from the tenement on Hester Street where my grandfather’s family had landed when they immigrated from Russia in 1912. They left the Ukraine so that my grandfather’s oldest brother wouldn’t be conscripted into the czar’s army — essentially the equivalent of enslavement for a young Jewish boy. Once in the US, my grandfather worked constantly — he left school at 14 to work in a factory cutting gems then crisscrossed the country by train as a traveling salesman of watches during the Depression. He never completed a formal education but read voraciously and took classes at the New School whenever he could to satisfy his avid intellectual appetite. He eventually landed in Los Angeles where the watches became a small jewelry store, which over time became three stores, which ultimately enabled his family to live a life of post-war stability and relative privilege.
My grandpa’s greatest desire was that his children and grandchildren get the education that he had not been able to access himself, and we did. And that afternoon on the Lower East Side, I thought of him, and the fact that his sacrifices, his labor, in the precise neighborhood where I was now buying an overpriced cup of tea, created the ability for me to have the life I have, and do the work that I feel so deeply privileged to engage in.
A year ago, Mexodus asked us to consider what we will do with the days our ancestors have earned us, and now Jessica Huang’s gorgeous Mother of Exiles looks at the many generations that have carried each of us to where and who we are today. How lucky are we to be in the presence of artists who allow us to reflect on the varied paths that have led us to this moment, in which we sit together in the dark, to better understand ourselves and each other?
Thank you for being part of our journey.
Warmly,
Johanna Pfaelzer
Artistic Director
From the Managing Director
Welcome to Berkeley Rep and thank you for joining us for the world premiere of Mother of Exiles — our 89th world premiere production. Developed in part through The Ground Floor: Berkeley Rep’s Center for the Creation and Development of New Work, Jessica Huang’s sweeping, multigenerational triptych blends historical drama with the supernatural, weaving moments of surprising humor into a powerful portrait of belonging and resilience.
Your presence today helps make Berkeley Rep a home for some of the most vital and visionary voices in theatre today. As a member of our community, you play a critical role in enabling us to create ambitious, thought-provoking work that sparks dialogue, builds empathy, and inspires people to see the world in new and surprising ways.
As the year draws to a close, I invite you to deepen your impact with a tax-deductible donation to Berkeley Rep. Your generosity uplifts emerging artists, sustains our artistry, and ensures access for students and underserved communities. And if you’re searching for a meaningful holiday gift, consider giving the joy of live theatre — whether through gift certificates, ticket packages, or a special evening out. Highlights still to come this season include the much anticipated All My Sons, featuring Jimmy Smits and Wanda De Jesús, along with three more remarkable mainstage productions.
And for a festive treat, don’t miss Tony Award–winner Jefferson Mays’ virtuosic one-man retelling of A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story across the Narsai M. David Courtyard in the Roda Theatre. I’ve seen Jefferson perform this tour de force on Broadway and elsewhere, and his performance truly embodies the spirit (and spirits) of the season.
On behalf of all of us at Berkeley Rep, I wish you a joyous, healthy holiday season and a new year filled with connection, creativity, and, of course, theatre.
Enjoy the show!
Tom Parrish
Managing Director
Healing Histories Through Story and Solidarity
Berkeley Rep’s associate artistic director, David Mendizábal, sat down with Mother of Exiles playwright Jessica Huang and executive director of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, Ed Tepporn, for a conversation about the play, immigration history, and the power of ancestral storytelling.
DAVID MENDIZÁBAL: Jessica, what inspired you to set the first act of Mother of Exiles at Angel Island in 1898?
Jessica Huang, playwright of Mother of Exiles.
JESSICA HUANG: When I was in history class, the immigration pathway I learned about was through Ellis Island. I didn’t learn very much about the West Coast immigration pathway, which is wild because that’s where half of my identity comes from. And so when I first learned about Angel Island after college, I was fascinated by its history and by that journey. I began doing research into Angel Island, which has so much documentation because of the incredible work being done by the Immigration Station Foundation, and it became an American landmark for me. When I started to write Mother of Exiles, which tells the story of multiple generations of one American family from the moment they immigrate to the moment they emigrate, it made sense to me to start this story at Angel Island.
DM: Ed, since you started as executive director at the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation in 2019, has anything changed in your experience of the island and its importance over time?
Edward Tepporn is the executive director of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (AIISF). AIISF works with California State Parks to preserve the buildings and histories connected to the former US Immigration Station at Angel Island.
ED TEPPORN: Like Jessica, I didn’t learn about Angel Island growing up in Texas, and I didn’t learn about it in college. It wasn’t until I moved to the Bay Area that I started hearing whispers of this place called Angel Island. So, I hope that more people are becoming increasingly aware of this important place and chapter not only in Californian history, but in US history. Both Angel Island and Ellis Island represent bookends of how our nation has treated immigrants and remind us how we’re treating immigrants today. When I first joined in 2019, it was right before COVID-19, and before we saw the significant increase in anti-Asian racism and xenophobia that came with the pandemic. And so, six years later, especially with all the anti-immigrant rhetoric that we’re hearing and seeing, it is even more important that everyone understands, recognizes, and connects with this part of our history.
DM: Mother of Exiles explores families that have been torn apart and sewn back together in a new way, while the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation uncovers family records and connects people to their ancestry. Jessica, what are you hoping to inspire folks to learn while exploring their ancestry? Ed, how can learning about one’s own family history empower immigrant communities in America today?
JH: I think about my own family history and there’s so much that I’ve learned from the ancestors I haven’t met — at least not with those on this plane, you know? I take so much inspiration from their journeys and their challenges and who they were that I hope to infuse in my work and in my conversations. I would hope that if people are interested in learning more about their ancestors, it’s about learning who they were and building a more present relationship with them as humans.
ET: One of the longest running projects that we’ve led at the foundation has been our Immigrant Voices Project, where we’ve collected over 250 stories of immigrants who were either processed or detained on Angel Island, as well as immigrants who came after the immigration station closed, or who’ve arrived in more recent years. In many cases, the experience for the immigrants at Angel Island’s Immigration Station was so traumatizing that they didn’t tell their children or their grandchildren. When you combine that with some of the cultural norms we see in Asian and Pacific Islander communities where you just keep your head down and don’t talk about your troubles or hardships, unfortunately, this contributes to a continued “invisibilization” of those experiences. I believe the opportunity for people to connect with their family’s histories is so powerful because it uplifts those invisible experiences. I am trying to create a community where we can be inspired to imagine a different future where all of us feel safe, where all of us feel like we belong.
DM: With Mother of Exiles, we begin on Angel Island, but the play traverses time and space to bridge together multiple narratives and immigrant communities, displaying solidarity among these groups. Jessica, why did you choose to highlight migrant solidarity? Ed, what are some best practices for migrant solidarity that you have seen or experienced to be successful?
JH: Well, I’m a product of interracial marriage and I’m in an interracial marriage. As much as the Asian immigration story is a part of my lineage, so is cross-cultural solidarity. Because my experience is the American story. It’s about how this is a place where people from so many different backgrounds can come together, fall in love with each other, support each other, learn from each other. That is the beauty of this place. When I think about the America that I love, that’s what it is. This play is my American play. It’s about how cultures are born from other cultures coming together, and how survival means widening your definition of family.
ET: As horrendous as the experience of detention is, my hope is that people aren’t defined solely by those traumatic experiences and that we recognize the full journeys of their lifetimes. That’s one of the things I really appreciate about stories like Mother of Exiles, as well as the stories of real-life journeys through Angel Island. There are many beautiful examples of how immigrants have come together to build community despite active efforts to try to keep us divided and separated. And that’s not to say that conflict and discrimination don’t exist between communities, but it’s important to learn from both of those examples, right? And to be inspired by them. Because ultimately there are so many experiences our
communities share.
DM: Absolutely. So beautifully spoken. Thank you both!
This Fragile Earth
A Look at the Climate Displacement Crisis
by victor cervantes jr.,
associate producer — new work
on Monday, September 22, 2025, a little before 3am, as i woke up in a shaking bed, i realized i was experiencing my first earthquake.
when speaking to the Berkeley Rep staff at large about her inspiration for Mother of Exiles, playwright Jessica Huang shared, “climate must now be a part of everything I write. so, the impact of climate change has always been a part of the show — from the beginning.”
with the reality of earthquakes and rising sea levels in the Bay Area, global climate experts forecast a harrowing future as early as within the next 25 years. recently, i have come across the terms “climate refugee” and “climate displacement” with increasing frequency, but how do these terms apply to me and my communities here in the Bay Area?
as we set on this journey with the López-Loi family, i ask myself and encourage you to ponder: what is the potential impact of environmental migration for the United States? what will I do to support my family? my neighbor? what is the first step towards climate protection and resilience that i am willing to take to care for the fragile earth i inhabit?
Below are a few facts to understand the impact of climate change globally, nationally, and locally.
Today, every 1.3 seconds, one person is forced to leave their home and community due to the climate crisis.1
Between 2008 and 2016, an annual average of 21.5 million people were inescapably displaced each year globally by weather-related events such as earthquakes, floods, storms, wildfires and droughts.2 By 2022, this average increased to 32.6 million people ousted from their homes.3 Research and modeling from the Institute for Economics & Peace predicts that this number will surge by 2050, with 1.2 billion people displaced across 31 countries not resilient enough to withstand ecological threats.4
The term “climate refugee” was first articulated in 1985 by Essam El-Hinnawi, a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) expert. He poses that climate refugees — also called “environmental refugees” or “climate migrants” — are identified as people who have “had to leave their habitat, temporarily or permanently, because of a potential environmental hazard or disruption in their life-supporting ecosystems.”5 Though introduced in 1985, El-Hinnawi’s term has not been officially recognized by the UN.
The UN’s definition of a refugee is someone who has crossed an international border due to a “well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion” or conflicts and “events seriously disturbing public order.”6 The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees argues that “climate refugee” is inaccurate based on this definition. Many people fleeing the effects of climate change do not leave their own country and, based on climate events alone, generally do not face persecution.
This divide on how to categorize climate refugees within the UN’s definition impacts how various refugee service organizations can implement aid, raising the question of how to determine and prioritize individuals displaced by weather-related events. As the global refugee crisis exponentially worsens, how should these service agencies support inevitable climate emigration specifically — especially when urbanized populations such as those from or housed in the Bay Area have traditionally not been recognized as refugees.
With sea levels rising each year, by 2100 up to 410 million people will be living in areas less than 7 feet above sea level.7 In the Bay Area, this reality is even more urgent with local organizations positing that by 2050, water levels could rise over a foot if current human-caused emissions continue.8
More than 300,000 properties in the Bay Area have an 80% chance of flooding in the next 30 years, with a projection of nearly 90% of those homeowners losing flood insurance by 2050.9 When this is considered in combination with coastal erosion, fog-caused accidents, and wildfires, statewide damage to residential and commercial buildings could reach almost $17.9 billion.10
Works Referenced
- Environmental Justice Foundation, “Extreme Weather and Climate Events.”
- Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, “2016 Global Report on Internal Displacement.”
- Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, “2023 Global Report on Internal Displacement.”
- Institute for Economics & Peace, “Ecological Threat Register Report,” 2020.
- El-Hinnawi, “Environmental Refugees,” United Nations Environmental Programme, 1985.
- UNHCR, “The 1951 Refugee Convention.”
- Hoojier & Vernimmen, “Global LiDAR,” Nature Com-munications, Issue 12, 2021.
- California Ocean Protection Council, California Sea Level Rise Guidance, 2024.
- First Street Foundation, “California Flooding Risk.”
- ABC7 News, “How Will Climate Change Impact the Bay Area?” 2024.
Show Program
Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Johanna Pfaelzer, Artistic Director | Tom Parrish, Managing Director
presents
Mother of Exiles
Written by Jessica Huang
Directed by Jaki Bradley
Scenic Design
Riw Rakkulchon
Costume Design
Haydee Zelideth
Lighting Design
Reza Behjat
Sound Design & Original Music
Jake Rodriguez
Projection Design
Nicholas Hussong
Wigs, Hair, & Makeup Design
Earon Chew Nealey
Fight Director & Intimacy Consultant
Dani O’Dea
Voice & Dialect Coach
Adi Cabral
Casting
TBD Casting Co./
Stephanie Yankwitt, CSA
Stage Manager
Kristy Bodall*
Assistant Stage Manager
Anthony Lopez*
Director of Marketing and Audience Services
Voleine Amilcar
Associate Producer — New Work
victor cervantes jr.
General Manager
Sara Danielsen
Director of Production
Audrey Hoo
Director of the School of Theatre
Anthony Jackson
Director of Finance
Sam Linden
Director of Development
Ari Lipsky
Associate Artistic Director/Director of In Dialogue
David Mendizábal
Director of Human Resources and Diversity
Modesta Tamayo
Director of Operations
Amanda Williams O’steen
Mother of Exiles received a Venturous Playwright Fellowship at the Playwrights’ Center in St. Paul, MN, supported by Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation.
WORLD PREMIERE
SEASON PRESENTING SPONSORS
Stephen & Susan Chamberlin
Yogen & Peggy Dalal
Marcia Grand
Bruce Golden & Michelle Mercer
Jonathan Logan & John Piane
The Strauch Kulhanjian Family
Gail & Arne Wagner
SEASON SPONSORS
Frances Hellman & Warren Breslau
Wayne Jordan & Quinn Delaney Jack & Betty Schafer
Gisele & Kenneth F. Miller The Hearst Foundations
Kelli & Steffan Tomlinson
SPONSOR
ASSOCIATE SPONSORS
Lynne Charmichael
Pat & Merrill Shanks
CAST
(in alphabetical order)
MICHELE SELENE ANG * … Eddie Loi
KINA KANTOR * … Sister
EMMA KIKUE * … Missionary/Sophia/Mimi López-Loi & Others
AMY LIZARDO * … Mother
DAVID MASON* … Guard/Mick/Henry & Others
CAMILA MORENO* … Tata/Claudia López & Others
MONICA OROZCO* … Midwife/Sarge/Karina López-Loi & Others
RICARDO VÁZQUEZ* … Modesto/Braulio Loi
WAYNE DEXTER WONG … Grandfather
UNDERSTUDIES
in alphabetical order
CASSIDY BROWN * … Guard/Mick/Henry & Others
KINA KANTOR* … Eddie Loi, Missionary/Sophia/Mimi López-Loi & Others
JOHN R. LEWIS* … Modesto/Braulio Loi
AMY LIZARDO* … Tata/Claudia López & Others, Midwife/Sarge/Karina López-Loi & Others
Understudies never substitute for listed performers unless a specific announcement or notice is made at the time of appearance.
*Members of Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.
This theatre operates under agreements with the League of Resident Theatres, Actors’ Equity Association (the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States), the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and United Scenic Artists.
The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production and distributing recordings or streams in any medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited, a violation of the author(s)’s rights, and actionable under United States copyright law.
Opening Night: November 19, 2025
Peet’s Theatre
Mother of Exiles will be performed without an intermission.
For This Production
Assistant Director … Katie Genzer (Bret C. Harte Artistic Fellow)
Assistant Lighting Designer … Claire Chesne (Electrics Fellow)
Assistant Sound Designer … Riley Oberting (Harry Weininger Sound Fellow)
Associate Projections Designer … Duncan Davies
Production Assistant … Olivia Spreen (Stage Management Fellow)
Deck Crew … Solomon Casado, Brittany Johnson, Hannah Linaweaver, James McGregor (automation)
Wardrobe Crew … Barbara Blair, Siobhán Slater, Malia Sittler
Wardrobe Subs … Linda Wu, Jessa Dunlap
Hair and Wigs Crew … Keke Vasquez-Tamali’i
Lighting Programmer/Board Op … Desiree Alcocer
Sound Crew … Conor Fortner (A1), Courtney Jean (A2)
Scenic Fabrication by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Scenic & Paint Shops
Additional Scenery Fabricators … Cassidy Carlson, Cameron Edwards, Carl Martin, Troy McClendon, Maggie Wentworth, Isla Hofmann (Scenic Construction Fellow)
Additional Scenic Artists … Kenzie Bradley, Julie Ann Brown, Cayla Ray-Perry, E Wayman-Murdock, Trinity Wicklund, Courtney Sutherland (Scenic Art Fellow)
Props Fabrication by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Properties Shop
Additional Prop Artisans … Hanbyul Joo, Sofie Miller, Amelia Reyes-Gomez (Properties Fellow)
Costumes Built by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Costume Shop
Additional Costume Technicians … Malia Sittler, Chris Weiland, James Calhoun (Costumes Fellow)
Lighting Services provided by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Lighting Department
Additional Lighting Technicians … Emma Buechner, Brittany Cobb, Jack Grable, Jacob Hill, A. Chris Hartzell, Hannah Linaweaver, Margaret Linn, Charlie Mejia, Nori-Hayden Quist, Taylor Rivers, C. Swan-Streepy, Matthew Sykes, Trinity Wicklund
Sound Services provided by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Sound and Video Department
Additional Sound Technicians … Elliott Orr, Camille Rassweiler
Production Manager … Kali Grau
Assistant Production Manager … Alex Hamm (Production Management Fellow)
Company Manager … Ryan Duncan-Ayala
Assistant Company Manager … Katelin Shum (Company Management Fellow)
Company Management Assistant … Bella Campos Hintzman
Medical Consultation for Berkeley Rep provided by
Mari Bell MPT (UCSF), Ed Blumenstock MD, Charissa Chaban DPT, Cindy J. Chang MD (UCSF), Christina Corey MD, Neil Claveria PT, Patricia I. Commer DPT, Kathy Fang MD PhD, Steven Fugaro MD, Anjali Gupta MD (Kaiser), Olivia Lang MD (Berkeley Pediatrics), Allen Ling PT, Liz Nguyen DPT, Desiree A. Unsworth DPT, Christina S. Wilmer OD, Eric Yabu DDS, and Katherine C. Yung MD
Special Thanks to Jules Anastasia (Congas) and Jason Stamberger (Guitar).
Artist Bios
Michele Selene Ang *
Eddie Loi
Michele is a Chinese-Indonesian-American actor and writer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre performance from Fordham University and her screen acting work can be found on Netflix’s hit TV drama 13 Reasons Why and CBS’ Elementary. On the film side, you can find her in the indie movie How I Learned to Fly on Apple TV. Michele has originated lead roles in new plays at acclaimed venues like Lincoln Center, Yale Rep, East West Players, The Old Globe, and now — Berkeley Rep! You can keep up with her at michelesang.com.
Kina Kantor *
Sister, u/s Eddie Loi, Missionary/Sophia/Mimi López-Loi & Others
Kina is a Bay Area actor, artist, and cellist. She is thrilled to return to Berkeley Rep where she previously appeared in Uncle Vanya, The Far Country, and The Great Wave. Selected regional credits include Indecent (Center Rep), Mrs. Christie (TheatreWorks, West Coast premiere), Naomi Iizuka’s Garuda’s Wing (world premiere) and Richard II (The Magic Theatre/Campo Santo), The Great Khan, The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin, Tiny Beautiful Things (SF Playhouse), and Torch Song (Marin Theatre Company). Additional credits include ACT, Aurora, Golden Thread, and SF Mime Troupe. Film credits include Free (2024) and You’ll Lose a Good Thing (2024). Kina is a company member of the Actors’ Reading Collective and PlayGround SF, a teaching artist for the SF Shakespeare Festival, and has taught for StageWrite and Academy of Art University. @kinakantor
Emma Kikue *
Missionary/Sophia/Mimi López-Loi & Others
Emma has originated roles in world premiere plays both off-Broadway in New York with Primary Stages, Clubbed Thumb, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Civilians, Ma-Yi, Pan-Asian Rep, and The Hearth; as well as outside of the city at The Humana Festival with Actors Theatre of Louisville and Detroit Public Theatre. Television credits include Love Life, The Sinner, Blue Bloods, Bull, Elementary, The Code, Instinct, Madam Secretary, and Braindead. Feature films include The Adults (Universal) and Josie & Jack (Tubi). You can hear her in the Audible audio drama Song of the Northwoods, also written by Jessica Huang and directed by Jaki Bradley!
Amy Lizardo *
Mother, u/s Tata/Claudia López & Others, Midwife/Sarge/Karina López-Loi & Others
Amy is an actor, singer, and teaching artist formerly based in the Bay Area. As a current company member with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Amy has appeared in productions including Quixote Nuevo, As You Like It, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Mother Road (world premiere), and La Comedia of Errors. Amy has performed in productions throughout the country including Real Women Have Curves: The Musical (American Repertory Theater), Mother Road (Arena), Party People (Berkeley Rep), Men on Boats, A Christmas Carol, The Unfortunates (ACT), Quixote Nuevo (Cal Shakes, world premiere), and many more. Amy sends love to her wonderful husband Mozart Pierson, newlyweds as of October 20, 2025.
David Mason *
Guard/Mick/Henry & Others
David is a New York-based actor who has worked professionally for over 30 years on stages around the country. Recent credits include Pictures from Home on Broadway, Dig (Primary Stages) and Seared (MCC), both by Theresa Rebeck, and world premiere productions by Theresa Rebeck, Brenda Withers, Ronan Noone, John Cariani, and others. Selected regional credits include numerous productions at Denver Center, Dorset Theatre Festival, Cleveland Play House, Cape Playhouse, Geva Theatre, TheatreSquared, Portland Stage, Northern Stage, and Arizona Theatre Company. TV credits include The Beauty, Blue Bloods, The Good Fight, The Blacklist, The Leftovers, and House of Cards.
Camila Moreno *
Tata/Claudia López & Others
Camila Moreno is a Puerto Rican actress quickly making her mark on stage and screen. She starred as a series regular in Ava DuVernay’s superhero series Naomi (The CW) and recently took on the title role in Luis Alfaro’s Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles at Yale Repertory Theatre. Her recent work includes readings of Karina Billini’s Apple Bottom, in which she played Winnie, at both The Public Theater and La Jolla Playhouse. Her stage work also includes Irina (Three Sisters), Cordelia (King Lear), and Ophelia (Hamlet). She is the recipient of the Victoria Espinosa Award from the Universidad de Puerto Rico and holds an MFA from NYU’s graduate acting program. Moreno divides her time between New York and Puerto Rico.
Monica Orozco *
Midwife/Sarge/Karina López-Loi & Others
Monica has worked on stages across the country and extensively in Chicago, her artistic home base. Notable institutions include Goodman Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, and Utah Shakespeare Festival. She has also appeared in numerous commercials and on television in various episodes of Chicago Med (NBC) and Soundtrack (Netflix). She is currently on the faculty at Smith College where she teaches acting, theatre, and dramatic literature courses in addition to directing department productions.
Ricardo Vázquez *
Modesto/Braulio Loi
Ricardo is a New York-based actor whose Broadway credits include the Tony-nominated 2024 revival of Our Town (dir. Kenny Leon) and the Tony-winning production of The Inheritance (dir. Stephen Daldry). He has performed with New York Stage and Film, TFANA, The Eugene O'Neill Theater, Page 73, Clubbed Thumb, Berkeley Rep's The Ground Floor, The New Group, Rattlestick Theater, Kitchen Theatre, Chance Theater, and Seattle Rep. He originated leading roles in Naomi Iizuka's The Last Firefly, Kira Obolensky's The Changelings, and Joe Minjares' musical River Road Boogie: The Augie Garcia Story, among others. He has appeared in feature films Nina of the Woods, Farmer of the Year, The Public Domain, and Death to Prom. TV credits include The Other Two (HBO), In an Instant (ABC), and M@dAbout TV (CBS). For upcoming projects and news: Ricardo-Vazquez.com and IG: @RicardoaVaz
Wayne Dexter Wong
Grandfather
A veteran character actor and singer, Wayne Dexter Wong has appeared in over 100 productions, mostly operas. He was last seen in Opera Parallèle's production of Harvey Milk Reimagined. Other engagements include SF Playhouse (As You Like It), Shotgun Players (The Triumph Of Love), West Edge Opera, Ars Minerva, Playwrights Foundation, The Handel Opera Project, Playwrights' Center of SF, and Teatro Bocchino (the world premiere of David Morris' Il Bobo Sferrato). Upcoming appearances include PlayGround-SF's production of Fool Proof and Pocket Opera's bilingual production of Madame Butterfly. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Brown University.
Cassidy Brown *
u/s Guard/Mick/Henry & Others
Cassidy is happy to return to Berkeley Rep where he previously appeared in Imaginary Comforts and as understudy in The Thing About Jellyfish. He has appeared at TheatreWorks in Fallen Angels, Doubt, Distracted, The 39 Steps and at San Jose Rep in Game On. Other Bay Area credits include Center Rep in The Great Leap, Ella, The Underpants, and The 39 Steps; Aurora Theatre in Bosoms and Neglect and Safe House; Marin Shakespeare Company in Don Quixote and Othello, San Jose Stage in The 39 Steps, and SF Playhouse in You Mean to Do Me Harm. Regionally he has appeared in multiple plays at both Capital Stage and Pacific Repertory Theatre. Berkeley Rep audiences can look forward to seeing him on stage in the upcoming 2026 production of All My Sons.
John R. Lewis *
u/s Modesto/Braulio Loi
John is proud to be a part of this beautiful new production. Recent credits include Clyde’s (Berkeley Rep), Richard II (Pear Theatre), Our Town (Center Rep), Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Perspective Theatre), The Legend of Georgia McBride, The Jungle Book (Marin Theatre), The Memory Stick (San Jose Stage), and Cymbeline (New Orleans Shakespeare Festival). Other understudy credits include The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (TheatreWorks), A Whynot Christmas Carol, The Unfortunates, and Stuck Elevator (ACT). Lewis is a member of Actors’ Equity
Association and a tireless advocate for balance, safety, and joy within our Bay Area theatre community.
Jessica Huang
Playwright
Jessica is a playwright and librettist whose award-winning work includes The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin, Blended (Harmony): The Kim Loo Sisters (music by Jacinth Greywoode), Song of the Northwoods (Audible), and Ten Things I Hate About You: The Musical (with Lena Dunham, score by Carly Rae Jepsen and Ethan Gruska). For Mother of Exiles, she has earned many distinctions including the highly competitive Venturous Playwright Fellowship. Jessica has commissions from Manhattan Theatre Club and TimeLine Theatre, and is the James Still Playwright-in-Residence at Indiana Repertory Theatre where she has been commissioned to create an original adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds. She is a graduate of Juilliard's playwriting program. Thank you to Marvin, Stefani, and Carmen for their support with translation, as well as the organizations that supported the development of this play: Playwrights' Center, NNPN, Alliance Theatre, NYSAF, Florida Studio Theatre, Two River, Old Globe, The New Group, and Hedgebrook. jessica-huang.com
Jaki Bradley
Director
Jaki is a director of theatre, TV, and film. Most recently she directed All Nighter at MCC. Jaki has directed at theatres across the country, including Berkeley Repertory, New York Theatre Workshop, The Old Globe, Ars Nova, New York Stage and Film, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Denver Center, and Arena Stage. Her films have screened at festivals in San Francisco, Palm Springs, and Beverly Hills. She has written for Netflix, Paramount, AGBO, Artists Equity, Wonderland, Scott Free, and sold an original series to FX. Proud member of SDC and WGA. jakibradley.com
Riw Rakkulchon
Scenic Design
Riw (pronounced ree-yoo) is a set and costume designer, animator, and chef from Bangkok, Thailand. They have worked at Yale Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, The Old Globe, Asolo Rep, The Acting Company, 59E59, Berkeley Rep, Edinburgh Fringe, Primary Stages, Hartford Stage, The Public Theater, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music amongst others. As a Broadway associate set designer he has worked on Pass Over, & Juliet, and Parade. They are a member of USA829 and a board member of WithAll, a non-profit organization on a fight to end eating disorders. IG: @riwrdesign Pronouns: he/they
Haydee Zelideth
Costume Design
Haydee is a Chicana artist and costume designer. Clothes carry on public conversations with others and share stories about who we are, who we are not, and who we wish to be. They are a means of exploring how image can open up perceptions of race, class, socioeconomic status, and more — all of which interests her most. She grew up on both sides of the Mexican border and these experiences inform her point of view and how she approaches her work, giving depth, dimension, and color to the specificities of someone’s life. @haydeezelideth
Reza Behjat
Lighting Design
Reza is an Obie Award-winning lighting designer and theatre artist based in New York. On Broadway, his work has been featured in English. Off-Broadway, his work has appeared in Atlantic Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Signature Theatre, Public Theater, The New Group, MCC, Playwrights Horizons, Audible Theater, Page 73, The Flea, Red Bull Theater, and Ars Nova, among others. His regional credits include work at Guthrie Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre, Berkeley Rep, The Old Globe, Milwaukee Rep, Seattle Rep, Hudson Valley Shakespeare, Milwaukee Rep, Wilma Theater, Arizona Theatre Company, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Geva Theatre, Long Wharf, and Alabama Shakespeare. He received an Obie Award in Design for English and Wish You Were Here (2022) and the Knight of Illumination Award for Nina Simone: Four Women (2019). Other nominations include Drama Desk, Henry Hewes, and Jeff Awards.
Jake Rodriguez
Sound Design & Original Music
Jake is a sound designer and composer working in theatre and based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His recent theatrical credits include Don’t Eat the Mangos (Huntington), Mother Road (Berkeley Rep), Between Two Knees (Perelman Performing Arts Center, Yale Repertory Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Frankenstein Revived (Stratford Festival), and Poor Yella Rednecks: Vietgone 2 (ACT). Jake is the recipient of a 2004 Princess Grace award and received an honorary MFA from ACT in 2021. Find sounds at soundcrack.net.
Nicholas Hussong
Projection Design
Nicholas is a designer and creative producer whose work has appeared across the globe in theatres, opera houses, museums, and more. His Broadway credits include Skeleton Crew (Tony-nominee). Off-Broadway, his work includes These Paper Bullets (Atlantic, Drama Desk-nominee), Wet Brain (Playwrights Horizons, Obie & Lucille Lortel award), On That Day in Amsterdam (Primary Stages, Drama Desk-nominee). Additional credits include The Marriage of Figaro (Little Island NYC), Fiddler on the Roof (Alliance, Atlanta Opera), Next to Normal (Round House Theatre, Barrington Stage Company, Helen Hayes-nominee), Magic Flute, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Cabaret (Atlanta Opera), and Vietgone (Guthrie). Co-creator of FEAST, an immersive dining experience with Listen&Breathe (Nantucket, Ireland). nickhussong.com
Earon Chew Nealey
Wigs, Hair, & Makeup Design
Earon is thrilled to return to Berkeley Rep following her previous work as wig designer on POTUS. Her credits include Fat Ham on Broadway, Almost Famous, Jersey Boys (ACT of Connecticut), Huzzah (Old Globe), Camelot, Blues for an Alabama Sky (Barrington), Two Strangers, Diary of a Tap Dancer (ACT), The Grove, Sojourners, Toni Stone, Fat Ham, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (Huntington), Bad Kreyòl, Three Houses (Signature), Table 17 (Makeup Design, MCC), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Malvolio, Twelfth Night (Classical Theatre of Harlem), Hamlet, The Harder They Come, Fat Ham, Cullud Wattah, Mojada (Public Theater), Dames at Sea, Kinky Boots (Bucks County Playhouse), The Last Supper (SOPAC), Notes on Killing (Soho Rep), and Little Girl Blue (Goodspeed, New World Stages).
tbd casting co. /
Stephanie Yankwitt, CSA
Casting
tbd casting co’s casting team includes Margaret Dunn, Tanis Parenteau, Nia Smith, and Stephanie Yankwitt. Their casting credits at Berkeley Rep include the aves, The Thing About Jellyfish, and Here There Are Blueberries. Current and upcoming NYC credits include Watch Me Walk (Soho Rep), The Emporium (Classic Stage Company), JESA (Ma-Yi with The Public Theater). Current regional theatre casting includes All the Men Who've Frightened Me (La Jolla Playhouse) and Inherit the Wind (Arena Stage). Film/TV credits include the series 10036 and upcoming feature films The Year of the Monarchs, Still Life, and Petrichor. tbd casting co. cast the award-winning film In the Summers, which won the 2024 Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival and was an official selection of Tribeca, Cartagena, and LA Latino International Film Festival. @tbdcastingco
Kristy Bodall *
Stage Manager
Kristy is a NYC-based stage manager, producer, and general manager. Her credits include The Beastiary (Ars Nova), The Keep Going Songs (LCT3), Another Rose (Virgin Voyages), Paris (Atlantic), The Maturation of an Inconvenient Negro (Cherry Lane), Ghost Quartet (NYTW), STREEPSHOW! (The Tank), Material Witness (La MaMa), and The Exalted (BAM). Credits at Clubbed Thumb include Deep Blue Sound, Spindle Shuttle Needle, King Philip’s Head ... Just Down the Road, and Plano. Credits at Pipeline Theatre Company include Playing Hot, Folk Wandering, Beardo, The Gray Man, and Clown Bar. Additional credits include developmental work with The Public Theater, Second Stage, Playwrights Horizons, Center Theatre Group, and Fresh Ground Pepper.
Anthony Lopez *
Assistant Stage Manager
Anthony is thrilled to be returning to Berkeley Rep. Anthony was most recently the sub stage manager for The Reservoir and was previously a stage management production assistant on The Thing About Jellyfish. Anthony started at Berkeley Rep as the Stage Management Fellow in 2023/24 season. Other Bay Area stage management credits include Ride the Cyclone (NCTC, 2024), Carrie: The Musical, Hadestown: Teen Edition (Young Conservatory at ACT), and many shows with the Education & Community Programs department at ACT.
Johanna Pfaelzer
Artistic Director
Johanna joined Berkeley Rep in 2019 as its fourth artistic director following 12 years as the artistic director of New York Stage and Film (NYSAF), a New York City-based organization dedicated to the development of new works for theatre, film, and television. Notable works developed under Johanna’s leadership at NYSAF include Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda, The Humans by Stephen Karam, Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell, The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe, The Invisible Hand by Ayad Akhtar, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music by Taylor Mac, The Homecoming Queen by Ngozi Anyanwu, The Great Leap by Lauren Yee, John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt, The Fortress of Solitude by Michael Friedman and Itamar Moses, The Jacksonian by Beth Henley, and Green Day’s American Idiot. In addition, Johanna has developed the work of many notable artists including Jocelyn Bioh, Zach Helm, Halley Feiffer, Billy Porter, Lucy Thurber, Duncan Sheik, V (formerly Eve Ensler), Steven Sater, Jaclyn Backhaus, Patricia Wettig, and Marcus Gardley. Since arriving at Berkeley Rep, Johanna has produced multiple world premieres as well as projects that have gone on to notable future productions including Swept Away, Galileo, Mexodus, and Cult of Love. She was formerly a producing director of Zena Group and served for five years as the associate artistic director of American Conservatory Theater. Johanna is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the Actors Theatre of Louisville apprentice program and has taught in the MFA theatre program at Columbia University School of the Arts. She lives in Berkeley with her husband Russell Champa and their son Jasper.
Tom Parrish
Managing Director
Tom has served as a theatre leader and arts administrator for over 20 years, with experience in organizations ranging from multivenue performing arts centers to major Tony Award-winning theatre companies. Prior to Berkeley Rep, he served as executive director of Trinity Repertory Company, Geva Theatre Center, and Merrimack Repertory Theatre and as associate managing director/general manager of San Diego Repertory Theatre. His work has been recognized with a NAACP Theatre Award for Best Producer and “Forty Under 40” recognition in Providence, Rochester, the Merrimack Valley, and San Diego. He received his MBA/MA in arts administration from Southern Methodist University; BA in theater arts and economics from Case Western Reserve University; attended the Commercial Theater Institute, National Theater Institute, and Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management; and is certified in leading diversity, equity, and inclusion by Northwestern University. He and his husband live in Berkeley.
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